Ibragim Todashev was fatally shot early May 22 during questioning about a 2011 triple homicide in Waltham, Massachusetts, as well as his relationship with deceased Boston Marathon bombings suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
Todashev admitted to his direct role in slashing three people’s throats in Waltham and said Tsarnaev was involved as well, a federal law enforcement official told CNN.
It was during that interview — which took place in the kitchen of his Orlando, Florida, home — that Todashev was shot dead.
“My son was definitely unarmed, because he never had a gun,” his father Abdulbaki Todashev told CNN in Moscow. “He couldn’t attack them or fight them; he couldn’t do anything because even two men could easily handle him.”
Contrary to what a U.S. official said, Todashev’s father claimed there were “four of five” law enforcement agents with his son at the time, “all armed.”
“He didn’t pose any threat to them. But even if he threatened them with his fists, couldn’t they shoot his leg?” Abdulbaki Todashev said. “My son couldn’t attack them. He’s not crazy.”
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Todashev had Tsarnaev’s phone number in his cell phone, the source said.
Todashev was from the Chechnya region, as were Tamerlan and Dzhokar Tsarnaev, the source said. Dzhokhar, Tamerlan’s brother, is a suspect in the April bombings in Boston.
Abdulbaki Todashev doesn’t believe his son admitted to any involvement in the Waltham triple homicide, saying “the FBI can say anything now because a dead person can’t defend himself.”
That said, the father said he believes “there are lots of honest workers” in U.S. law enforcement who he thinks “can be trusted (to) conduct a fair investigation” into his son’s death.
“I do want justice,” Abdulbaki Todashev told CNN. “I’ve always taught my children about justice. I do believe in it.”
CNN’s Phil Black reported from Moscow, and Carol Cratty reported from Washington. CNN’s Greg Botelho and Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.
